Faint

Courtney's POV:

The last thing I remembered was thrashing about in the near boiling water. My skin felt like it was on fire; i could practically feel it burning away. My hair was singed and dripping wet at the same time, as were my clothes. At one point, I simply closed my eyes and accepted my impending death, giving up. I dove underwater, folding my scalding limbs into a ball and waited. I'm not sure what for - maybe for my body to be cooked, or for the air to escape my lungs.

That was when the water seemed to instantly cool.

By that point, the water level had since risen so much that the chamber resembled a pool. And as I patiently waited to die, the water's boiling temperatures dropped, bypassing room temperature, all the ay to the freezing point, and then back up again to normal. the abnormal rain had since stopped, only to restart again. This place was truly a madhouse.

I stood up, the water reaching my neck, and squinted in the darkness. And there it was. The blade, somehow floating in the water, which puzzled me. Nonetheless, i swam over to it, comforted with it back in my grip. That was when I saw it.

The knife had been resting in a small ceramic bowl, floating a few feet away. In it was a delicately folded piece of paper, a glass bottle of sorts, and a handful of dried fruit and nuts.

I scrambled towards it, careful not to knock the bowl into the sea the now surrounded me. Grabbing fistfuls of nuts, I hastily finished the measly portion of food I had been given, and though it made sense to save some, I knew my captors would only take it if it was still here by morning. I glanced back into the bowl and whipped the water from my hands as best as i could, before unfolding the paper.

Courtney,

I'm not even sure if you'll ever get this, but if you do, please send us a signal or sign. We're looking for you, and this was a last resort idea.

The police are searching for you, but they have no way of finding you. Do you know anything about your whereabouts?

Hang on baby sister, we love you, and we're coming for you.

Ashley


I felt tears pool in my eyes as i read through the note several times, letting his words sink in. they got my messages! They could contact me now! Glancing back in the bowl, I noticed a pen and another piece of paper. Perfect.

I made my way to the wall where I made my markings, and hastily scribbled down a message, along with anything I could remember or notice about my surroundings. the time of day, the amount of sunlight, anything.

And that's when I saw it.

The knife floated over to my side once again, and the reflection of the sun on it allowed for my tired eyes to skim over the handle.

Palm Springs, California

It might not be correct, but it was all I had.

I folded the paper and placed it back in the ceramic bowl when a thought crossed my mind.

It seemed like my captors were making things to easy for the guys. They gave me a knife to defend myself with, and paper every day. It was... unnerving, and made my skin crawl. Whatever the reason, there definitely was a motive behind it, and I hoped I could find out what it was before it was too late.

I eyed the purple glass bottle, nestled in the bowl. Was it water? A drink? food? Curiosity gnawed at my brain, and I found myself reaching for the pretty bottle, slowly twisting the lid. I peered inside and felt disappointment flood my chest when i realized it was empty.

sighing, I tossed it back into the bowl, and it bounced off, landing in the water. I shrugged it off as it sunk to the bottom.

A second later I instantly regretted it.

Notes

I feel bad fro Courtney... but she has an idea of her location now!

What do you think was in the bottle? Why are her captors purposely giving her objects that could potentially free her?